Formula One News — June 1997

FORMULA 1 team bosses will have to decide whether they want to have a 18th race this year.

TOM WALKINSHAW is tipped to be on the verge of buying the financially troubled Lola Cars company. Eric Broadley's customer car business has been in financial administration in recent weeks as a result of the company's disastrous attempt to enter Formula 1 racing.

NORMAN LEGAULT, managing-director of Grand Prix Players du Canada, and F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone last weekend had a meeting with Jean Pelletier, the chief of staff of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien to discuss the future of the Grand Prix in relation to the new anti-tobacco legislation known as Law C-71. This received Royal Assent in April but does not come into effect until October 1998.

ALAIN PROST's political connections have been severely weakened by the arrival of a Socialist government in France - and the nomination of a Communist as the new Minister of Youth and Sport - but the turnaround of fortunes may end up working in Alain's favor.

MOST of the F1 teams were at Magny-Cours last week and it was Benetton's Jean Alesi who ended up setting the pace with a best lap of 1m15.09s.

AT a meeting of the 15 European Health Ministers in Luxembourg last week, Britain's Public Health Minister Tessa Jowell confirmed that the new government in Britain is to support plans for a European Union ban on tobacco advertising.

THE word on the street in Formula 1 commercial circles is that Eddie Jordan will not only keep his sponsorship from Benson & Hedges next year but will get additional backing from Mastercard.

DAMON HILL was in court in Imola last week, giving evidence at the Ayrton Senna trial.

PATRICK PETER, the former organizer of sportscar racing with the BPR company, is taking the FIA and ISC to court in France claiming $20m of damages as a result of the FIA decision in March this year to establish an FIA Grand Touring Championship without the participation of BPR.

THE FIA and Bernie Ecclestone's ISC company have lost the preliminary case over the televising of the FIA European Truck Racing Cup.

JACQUES VILLENEUVE indicated in Barcelona that he does not yet have an agreement with Williams for the 1998 season.

JACQUES VILLENEUVE's recent habit of publicly attacking the FIA's planned rule-changes for 1998 could be about to land the French-Canadian in trouble.

THERE was a big three-day test at Silverstone last week with Williams as ever setting the pace.

THERE have been rumors in F1 circles for some weeks that the Benetton Formula 1 team is for sale.

BRIAN HART - the last privateer engine-builder involved in Grand Prix racing - is planning to return to V10 engines in 1998 if there is a team which will be willing to fund his new power unit.

THE rumors of attempts to revive the South African Grand Prix are interesting, but the major problem remains finding the money to take Formula 1 racing back onto the African Continent.

THERE have been a lot of rumors in recent days suggesting that Tyrrell is about to be sold. It is not the first time there have been such stories over the years and Ken Tyrrell has always insisted that the team will remain with the Tyrrell Family.

THE European Health Ministers will meet this week in Brussels and Europe's Social Affairs Commissioner Irishman Padraig Flynn has confirmed that he is going to raise the issue of a pan-European tobacco advertising ban.

BENETTON driver Gerhard Berger has undergone surgery for sinus problems, but is expecting to be to fit and well again in time for the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks.

SUNDAY's elections for the French National Assembly could have a dramatic effect on the fortunes of Alain Prost's Formula 1 team.

THE German television company AE TV-Cooperations GmbH of Heidelberg, which is in dispute with the FIA over the televising of the FIA European Truck Racing Cup, has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission against the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone's ISC company, claiming that they are both in violation of Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty of Rome which prohibit cartels and the abuse of a dominant position in commerce.